ATM is a switching and multiplexing technique designed for transmitting digital information, such as data, video, and voice, at high speed, with low delay, over a telecommunications network. The ATM network includes a number of switching nodes coupled through communication links. In the ATM network, bandwidth capacity is allocated to fixed-sized units named “cells.” The communication links transport the cells from a switching node to another. These communication links can support many virtual connections, also named channels, between the switching nodes. The virtual connections, for example a Virtual Channel Connection (VCC) or a Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC), ensure the flow and delivery of information contained in the cells.
The ATM Forum, which is a user and vendor group establishing ATM standards, has also defined several ATM service categories, used in characterization of a virtual connection. For example, among such service categories are (1) a Constant Bit Rate (CBR), which supports a constant or guaranteed rate to transport services, such as video or voice, as well as circuit emulation, which requires rigorous timing control and performance parameters; (2) a Variable Bit Rate (VBR), real time and non real time, which supports variable bit rate data traffic with average and peak traffic parameters; (3) an Available Bit Rate (ABR), which supports feedback to control the source rate in response to changed characteristics in the network; and (4) an Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR).